Five years ago, The Local Church had its first official gathering. It wasn’t a big flashy Sunday morning worship service. It wasn’t a big community-wide kickoff. In fact, by the world’s standards, it might have seemed somewhat… underwhelming. We instead gathered in a community clubhouse around tables to devote ourselves “to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
For 18 months, this was our primary form of gathering and organizing — in homes, around tables, with rich spiritual conversation and a place for all. Table fellowship and authentic relationship thus became a core part of our identity — something we felt compelled to share more broadly.
This came alive for us last fall for us when we spearheaded a Pay-What-You-Can Community Feast with The Quiltmaker Café, an emerging nonprofit pay-what-you-can restaurant in Pittsboro, along with more than fifteen other community partners, including local restaurants, farms, breweries, bake shops, churches, and nonprofits.
That October night, nearly 250 of our closest friends gathered to share good food, meet neighbors, and celebrate community under a beautiful fall sunset with 30 six-foot tables placed end-to-end. The weather was perfect. Everyone had a place at the table. The food was mouth-watering. The conversation was rich. It reminded me just how uncommon the act of feasting is — and how radical it can be in our world.
We can’t wait to do it again.
I tell folks often, “Jesus did his best work around tables.” This is why. In a world marked by partisanship and polarization, tables diffuse power and create space for deep connection. When we constantly receive messages of how this world is ours for the taking, there’s something powerful about the act of receiving a meal and ensuring that everyone has enough. And when we feel like we must go it alone, a feast reminds us that we need one another and that our lives are bound up together. This is graceful hospitality — thanks be to God.
Holy God, you do indeed do your best work around tables. Thank you for your faithfulness through The Local Church and those who inspired and supported its creation. Empower us anew to enlarge our hearts and extend our tables, so there is room enough for all. May your grace be found at every table around which we find ourselves such that every friend, neighbor, and stranger would come to know your love; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
Rev. Brent Levy is the pastor of The Local Church in Pittsboro, NC.
Our theme for this year’s Lenten reflections is Graceful Hospitality. 2023 marks the 70th anniversary of the Ten Dollar Club, now known as the New Room Society. We give thanks for our Conference’s ongoing commitment to co-creating new places for new people to gather in communion with Jesus Christ and extending graceful hospitality to all of God’s children.